Celebrating the 75the anniversary of the Siege of Leningrad

St Petersburg earlier known as Leningrad was witness to a massive military parade. This was to commemorate the 75th anniversary of breaking of the German army's siege of the city. President Vladimir Putin was not present at the parade, but he visited a nearby cemetery and attended a memorial concert. The parade commemorates the heroic resistance of the citizens of the city against the German army. DW news has reported that more than 2,500 soldiers and 80 military units paraded through St. Petersburg's Palace Square on Sunday as the city marked 75 years since the breaking of the German siege of the city

German siege

On 22 June 1941, the Fuehrer ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. The German army quickly reached Moscow and surrounded Leningrad. Despite many attempts, the German army could not enter Leningrad. The citizens put up a heroic resistance, and over 500,000 died of starvation. The siege was lifted after 942 days, and during this period the population of Leningrad had shrunk from 3 million to just over 800,000.

Celebration

The celebration was attended by representatives of France, the UK, Germany, and 16 other nations. 

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced a pledge to donate €12 million ($13.7 million) to the siege's remaining survivors. Nearly 108,000 war veterans still survive in the city. The offer was accepted by Russia, which recently created a universal nuclear warship. Sputnik News has reported that Leningrad ( now renamed St. Petersburg became the first city to be bestowed the title of Hero City in 1945.

Parade

The parade was conducted in biting cold with ice falling. Thousands of Russians including surviving veterans of the siege witnessed the parade. The parade also marked a gun salvo using dummy shells to recreate part of the scene during the lifting of the siege. The guns used were the same used during World War II. Despite the temperature falling to minus 11 degrees Celsius hundreds of spectators watched the parade.

Remembering

The Russians have been celebrating the end of the Siege by the German army for almost a week. Some of the most recognizable landmarks of the city are lit up, and many residents lighted candles in their windows. The city had been devastated during the siege as the German army had decided to "starve" the city into surrender. The elder brother of Vladimir Putin who last year met Trump at Helsinki, died during this siege and his mother almost died of hunger.

Russia's former imperial capital will be remembered for long in history as one of the important battles of the last war.

Baba Dwarkanath of Mathura Jailed for 25 years for Rape

Baba's and so-called holy men are the banes of India, and even as the government jails two, another four emerge. At a time when public awareness of the role of the Baba's is high the cases of rape by these holy men are not going down. India's foremost tantrics Baba Asa Ram and Ram Rahim Singh have been jailed on charges of multiple rapes. News 18 has reported another bizarre case where a tantric named baba Dwarkanath lured a young wife to his ashram and after sending her husband away to carry out a religious ritual repeatedly had carnal knowledge of her body on the pretext of curing her stomach ailment. 

The incident took place in the ashram of the baba in Vrindavanclose to Mathura in UP, India.

Baba Dwarkanath's devious plan

The lady who was a firm believer in the powers of the Baba Dwarkanath visited the Ashram located in Mathura district close to Vrindavan along with her husband and four-year son. Both the husband and wife met the baba Dwarkanath, and the lady sought the baba's help in curing a recurrent stomach ailment. The Baba advised the couple to stay in the ashram for the night and allotted a room to them on the first floor. 

At night the Baba came to the room with an earthen lamp (diva) and asked the husband to go down and stay there till the flame was extinguished. He promised to invoke his powers in the meantime and cure the wife.

The husband duly went down, and in his absence, the Babaforced himself on the lady. He followed up with another round and threatened that in case she did not comply he would destroy her family with his power.

Trial

The lady told her husband who reported the matter to the police. With new all-around awareness, the police swung into action and after due inquiry and medical examination booked the Baba for rape under the IPC. The case was committed to a fast-track court. During the trial, the lady for unknown reasons denied that Baba Dwarkanath had raped her and said that probably the act was committed by some other person.Her evidence was disregarded by the magistrate who has now sentenced the Baba Dwarkanath to 25 years jail term. This is a strict punishment, and the followers of the Baba are aghast at the quantum of the sentence. The police have sealed the ashram.

Last word

The case was transferred from the local Sessions court to the fast track court and the trial completed inside four months. The case was heard by the additional district judge, Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi. He has apart from the jail term also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000, and on its non-payment, the accused would have to undergo a further jail term of 27 months

Memory of my First School: Stanes High School in Coimbatore

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  The School Today

The Stanes High School

sir stanes

The Stanes High School on Avinashi road at Coimbatore is a school that is testimony to the good that the Raj brought to India. The school now in its 148th year of existence is a tribute to the Raj and the men who were the sinews of that period. I had attended this school decades back when my father was posted at Coimbatore. Thus I have fond memories of this school.

Inception

Old residence of Stanes

The Stanes High school was the brainchild of Sir Robert Stanes a coffee planter who had his plantations of coffee in the Nilgiris. In those days Robert Stanes used to take his coffee seeds for processing to Kerala. But once he happened to visit Coimbatore, he liked the place immensely as it had a salubrious climate that reminded him of Manchester.
The school saw shape in 1862, making it one of the oldest schools in India. In fact it is older than the Daly College and Doon School.
The school was set up with help from the church. But by the turn of the twentieth century the school opened its doors to all categories and classes of people. The name European was dropped and the school renamed as 'Stanes High School'. However in keeping with the wishes of Sir Stanes the school even now carries on with reservations for the minority Anglo Indian community. .

The School Today

the school

The Stanes High School will soon be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2012. This will be a rare achievement as hardly any school in India is that old. Presently the school has over 3000 students and the medium of instruction is English.
When we look at the school now, we must all spare a thought for Robert Stanes who had the vision to set up this school. For his services to India and the people of Coimbatore Henry Stanes was knighted by the King. He was also awarded the Kaiser-e-Hind medal by the Governor General. Sir Robert Stanes breathed his last in 1936. But he left behind a splendid monument of all the good that the Raj brought with it.
For me it will always remind me of one the best period of my life.

Blast from the Past an American ex-Flame sends me Rare Scotch

Old Flame, Yet Not so Old

Friends on Wiki and my blog will recollect a memoir I had written of a romantic interlude when I was the project director of the UN Tribal welfare project at Palghar under the aegis of the WHO. It was one of the rare moments of my life that I can relive 100 times and goes with my philosophy of flying supersonics and loving fair women.

It was a tempestuous affair with a young doctor, an American who was attached to the project. But like all good things, this affair ended as she left and I continued on my way.

Despite being away she would ring me as a bond had developed between us. She rang me up the other day and told me that as I liked good scotch she was presenting me with 2 bottles of Single Malt rare scotch. I was surprised, but the gift came the other day by courier and I was thrilled to open the package.

The Ardberg

scotch first malt

Two bottles emerged from the package. The first was Ardbeg, which is advertised as the ultimate Islay Single Malt Scotch whiskey. It is guaranteed as 10 years old and distilled at the Arbeg Distellery at the Isle of Islay, Argyll, Scotland. The Arberg distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay and situated right on the rugged shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Arberg whiskey is non-chill filtered and has a strength of 46%. Thus retaining maximum flavor. This is supposed to be the ultimate single malt whiskey which all other whiskeys aspire to be. It's a great drink, but I have drunk it very seldom.

The Duthac

rare scotch

The second bottle was Glenmorangie's special brand the Duthac. This whiskey is supposed to be inspired by King James IV who made an annual visit to the distillery and the inventor of this concoction Dr. Bill Lumsden set out and created this whiskey for the king.

The whiskey I am told has a special taste, but I will confess that I have never tasted it earlier. What a girl, to pick up a rare scotch that I had never tasted earlier. The whiskey is around for long years and is marketed only in limited quantities to the elite. Its a deep bronze whiskey and am looking forward to drinking.

I will add that I rang my girl and thanked her for it and mentioned that she knew my taste also included fair women. She said she is coming for a holiday and friends what better than a holiday at the Mercure Resort on the Jebel Hafeet mountains in the UAE. Great place to bring alive old memories with rare scotch.

Demons of Hinduism

The Demons that Confront Man

Kali

The demon is a popular word and there is not a man or woman who would have heard about it. In Hinduism also demons are part of the religion. The concept of Demons in Hinduism is not as in the Christain religion. In Christianity, the concept of the Demon is associated with Satan. In Hinduism, the concept of the Demon is the antithesis of God. There is no presiding deity like Lucifer or Satan and mostly the demons are a leaderless lot.
Islam also has its fair share of demons that are known as ‘Jinn’s’. These are supernatural beings with evil powers. In Islam, the leader of the “jinn’s” is Iblis or Satan.
Some of the Hindu demons are discussed below.

Virabhadra

Many classify this deity as a god as well because he has temples dedicated to him. However, he is a Demon as he was created by Shiva the foremost Hindu deity to fight against Daksha. Virabhadra is a patron of occult practices and weird beliefs are associated with his name.

Andhaka

Andhaka was the third son of Shiva. Legend relates that Andhaka was created from a tear of the lord Shiva, but he angered the god as he lusted for Shiva’s consort Parvati. Shiva thus killed him

Kali

Kali is a goddess but she also represents the dark nature of life. She is a form of the goddess Shakti (who was Shiva’s consort). She is an angry form of god but many do not recognize her as a demon.
Kali is a homonym (Kali: Goddess; Kali: a real demon), thus” Kali” represents the Kali Yuga the evil age that is now dawned on the world in that respect she is a Demon.

Koka and Vikoka

The Goddess Kali had twin sons named Koka and Vikoka. These twins are considered demons as they represent wars and battles. They are present whenever war is fought and also instigate war and misery.

Vinayaka's

Vinaykas are a group of four troublesome demons who create obstacles. The group of four Vinayakas was merged into one deity named Vinayaka whom Rudra appointed as the “Leader of the Ganas”. Ancient Puranik literature refers to these demons.

Vetala

This kind of demon resides in dead bodies. It is indestructible and he often confronts the living man

Pishacha

These Demons eat raw meats and Pishacha is a carnivorous demon. But the origin of this demon is shrouded in mystery and not much is known about it.

Bhuta

Bhuta is a kind of bad soul of a human being who dies by suicide or by execution. It is a demon who takes form after an unnatural death.

Conclusion

In Hindu mythology, there are many demons. Again sometimes the dividing line between demon and god in Hinduism is very thin like the goddess kali. In addition, Hinduism also mentions rakshasas and asuras who are also demons.

Book Review: White Women and Conception with Red Indian Braves( One thousand white women)

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• Humanities»
• Literature

"One Thousand White Women" Book Review

This story is engaging, creative, and winner of the Regional Book Award. | Source

Fergus, Jim; One Thousand White Women, St. Martin's Griffin, New York; 1998, pp. 434 ISBN 978-0-312-19943-2

I read a fair amount of printed material offline and regard myself somewhat as a naturalist, so I respect American Indian stories and culture. Imagine my delight when I came upon this story based on a proposal Cheyenne Chief Little Wolf, realizing the plight of his people, made to the United States Government in 1874. In factual history, the proposal was flatly and outrightly refused.

Fergus, however, creates May Dodd as the female protagonist who, along with 49 other women, the first of an experimental installment plan, accepts Chief Little Wolf's offer and volunteers to marry a Cheyenne brave and bear a child(-ren). The purpose was for peace the women would have sex and marriage with Red Indian brave and conceive Children from them

The original proposal was not one-sided. The women were to be accepted in exchange for 1,000 horses, half of them tamed and the other half-wild. Chief Little Wolf based his offer on the Cheyenne matriarchal structure, which assigned children to the mother's tribe. He knew his people must assimilate into the white man's culture or be annihilated. To the chief, the plan was the most humane and expeditious means of accomplishing this daunting task..

Me and My Art

The Beginning

Art runs in our family. My uncle was an average plus painter who took to commercial art at Hindi Cinema. But he never made money from his paintings and despite earning a lot from films dies almost forgotten and unsung. This had an effect and my old man was dead set on me not taking up art as a career. I had the gift of painting and used to paint a lot. My art teacher Mr. Paul, loved my work and encouraged me. But it all ended at home and dad said " paint, yes, but make your living from some other profession"

The Sea Painting

my painting

I painted this scene when I was in high school. It is made with oils on a canvas which I hot ready myself. I spent if I can remember 3 days to paint it and today it adorns our ( dads) house in Delhi. It has pride of place in the drawing-room and many a visitor over the years have complimented the work.

Painting Further

dad and mom

When I was in college, my parents attended a fancy dress competition. I saw the photo and asked my dad whether he and mom would mind if I painted the photo. He was delighted and this painting resulted. Its a watercolor and is framed and hangs on the wall of the dining room.
I made many more paintings, but my favorite was sceneries, particularly of the sea and rivers. These themes appealed to me the most. 

Painting the Himalayas

my painting

I once as a young officer traveled to Simla and the mountains higher up in the Himalayas. There I got the inspiration to paint the above-attached painting. It shows the mountains in full color and a river cascading down. Over the years this piece of art has dulled slightly, but I think it is still good. It again is displayed on the wall of the kitchen of our house in Delhi.

Last Word

Sketch by Me

I made in all about 40 paintings and some of them over the years have faded and need a touch-up. I have a memory of painting my girlfriend a Tamil Brahmin girl in the nude, but I won't reproduce it here as the girl is still around. Maybe I could hold an exhibition and see what critics think of my amateur art. Anyway this is the lost opportunity, but I have no regrets as after all as Lord Krishna said in the Gita" Nothing moves, not even a leaf without my will"